1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of bearing assemblies and seals, and particularly to an auxiliary bearing seal comprising a close fitting flinger.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of bearing seals and systems have been provided in the prior art. The purpose of such seals is well known to be the protection of the bearings from exterior dirt, etc. and the maintenance of lubrication etc. for the bearings. In certain applications, there are heightened problems due to extreme conditions such as high levels of dust, dirt and the like in the area of the bearings. In such instances, it is appropriate to provide additional sealing systems to protect the bearings from these extreme use conditions.
A particular type of bearing system includes bearings for reception of a rotating shaft, as shown for example in FIG. 1. The bearings 10 include inner races 11 within which the shaft 12 is received, and further include outer races 13 received within an annular housing 14. The housing includes an internal shoulder 15 against which is received one side of the outer bearing races. The housing further includes an internal thread spaced from the shoulder which receives an externally-threaded cover 16 that bears against and holds in place the other side of the outer races of the bearings. A collar 17 is received over an outwardly extending portion 18 of the inner race(s), and a set screw 19 extends through the collar and engages the shaft.
In the prior art, an annular seal 20 has typically been provided between the cover and the inner race. In certain instances, auxiliary seals have been provided to further protect the bearings. For example, one approach has been to provide a second annular seal 21, which covers the space between the collar 17 and the cover 16 (FIG. 1). A second approach is shown in FIG. 1A, in which a flinger 22 is shown received over the collar 17.
In some bearing environments it is particularly difficult to provide adequate sealing. The conditions of use can be extremely hard on the bearings and associated sealing systems. For example, stalk choppers, concrete saws and concrete planers generate great amounts of dirt and dust. Also, in many machines the space within which to place auxiliary seals is quite restricted. In these environments, it has been found that standard and auxiliary sealing systems have been found to be unsatisfactory. The result has been that lubrication of the bearings and maintenance of the seals has had to be undesirably frequent, or rapid bearing failures have occurred. For these applications, there has been a continuing need for a compact and highly efficient auxiliary bearing seal, which need is satisfied by the present invention.